


A Complete Mess

by sandersonsister



Series: Soulmate AU's - Haikyuu! [22]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandersonsister/pseuds/sandersonsister
Summary: Tobio had been looking forward to receiving his soulmark since he learned what it was. His soulmate would be someone that cared about him no matter what. But then his sixteenth birthday came and he received not one name, but two. And he knew for certain that those two people wanted nothing to do with him. It's going to take time, friends, and an annoying setter to help with this problem.





	A Complete Mess

**Author's Note:**

> Egh, I woke up to my air conditioner being broken and it's really, really hot. I'm pretty sure it's hotter inside my house than it is outside. Anyway, hope you guys like this one-shot! I've basically been working on it all day as I've been trying not the melt. :) Let me know what you think!

Tobio had always been a bit fascinated with the idea of soulmates.

 

The idea that there was someone out there that would stand beside you no matter what, would _love_ you no matter what, was an idea he clung to throughout elementary and junior high. Especially junior high. He kept telling himself that it didn’t matter that his schoolmates and his team didn’t like him because he would soon find someone that would. And that was what was important.

 

So he stayed up until midnight on his sixteenth birthday and stared at his wrist in anticipation. On midnight of a persons sixteenth birthday their soulmate’s name would appear on their wrist. Tobio could honestly say the only time he had ever been so excited was when his team won against Shiratorizawa two months previously.

 

But that anticipation and excitement turned to horror when the names slowly appeared on his wrist.

 

_Kunimi Akira_

_Kindaichi Yutaro_

He stared down at the words, hoping that if he watched them long enough they would change into something else. Into some _one_ else. But they didn’t. They stubbornly stayed as they first appeared. Kunimi and Kindaichi.

 

Tobio shakily stood from where he had been lying on his bed and hurried toward the bathroom.

 

He was going to be sick.

 

Kunimi had barely spoken to him during their third year of junior high. He was the reason his team, and all the other teams, called Tobio the “King of the Court”. He had been the one to come up with the title. Tobio knew it was Kunimi’s plan during their last game, he knew that the other boy had been the one to tell the others to give up on Tobio entirely. He had made sure that he and Tobio would in no way interact with one another in high school.

 

He acted like Tobio didn’t exist.

 

Kindaichi was different. Kindaichi had made it perfectly clear that he despised Tobio. He had said that they were never friends. He had blatantly told Tobio that they would in no way be anything to one another beyond rivals.

 

What hurt the most was the fact that Kindaichi turned sixteen months before Tobio. He turned sixteen in June. It was December.

 

He knew, before he had said any of those things, that Tobio was his soulmate.

 

And if Kindaichi knew, so did Kunimi, even if the other boy didn’t turn sixteen until March.

 

And neither of them had said a word to him.

 

Even now, when they knew his birthday was the 22nd of December, they didn’t even bother to message him.

 

So he did the same. He wrapped a soulmate band around his wrist, one specially designed to cover soulmarks. His father and mother merely exchanged a glance when they noticed it but never said a word to him. Tobio didn’t bother trying to explain. His parents were…happy together, he supposed. They were soulmates, after all. But the two were so fixated on their work that they were rarely home. To be honest, Tobio was surprised they had noticed at all.

 

His teammates noticed as well. The day before his birthday, Tobio admitted that he was just a bit excited. He had seen the amused and confused glances he had been given during practice and it was only after Suga asked if everything was alright as they were leaving that Tobio admitted his birthday was the next day. Suga’s eyes had brightened with understanding and his left hand had instantly gone to gently sweep over the letters on his right wrist. He wished Tobio luck and the younger had smiled and thanked the older setter before the two went their separate ways.

 

The next day, Suga had surprised him during practice with a small party. Even Tsukishima had wished him a happy birthday. He had thanked them all but he saw each and every person glance at his covered wrist and take in his expression.

 

Not one of them questioned who his soulmate was.

 

Honestly, he was a bit jealous of his teammates. Yamaguchi had received Yachi’s name. Tsukishima was shocked but not upset when Kuroo Tetsurou appeared on his wrist – though Tobio was pretty sure he was annoyed that the third year hadn’t bothered to mention it. He wondered what explanation the Nekoma captain had given the blond. Hinata had even received the name of that setter from Nekoma. Tobio admitted that he found that extremely amusing as the two from Nekoma were best friends, almost like brothers, which meant that Tsukishima and Hinata would probably be in each other’s lives for a long time.

 

Neither had seemed very amused when Tobio brought that up.

 

Though Yamaguchi and his upperclassman had laughed.

 

He knew that Suga and Daichi were soulmates and that Asahi was matched with Noya. Tanaka was actually matched with a girl he knew from middle school, though she didn’t attend Karasuno. All of them seemed to have soulmates that cared for them.

 

Why was he the exception?

 

He didn’t see the two boys, his _soulmates_ , again until the next school year. Like the previous year, Aoba Johsai requested a practice match and Karasuno was more than happy to accept. Tobio was silent on the way to the other school, his hand resting on his soulmate band. He didn’t notice when Hinata and Yachi exchanged worried glances or when Yachi leaned over to whisper in Yamaguchi’s ear. “Hey, Kageyama-kun?” Tobio turned his eyes away from where he had been staring out the window and looked toward the boy he actually considered his best friend. “Is everything alright?’

 

“Fine,” Tobio responded quickly to the redhead. Hinata’s brows furrowed and his mouth opened but a slim, pale hand reached over the seat and came to cover Hinata’s mouth. The smaller boy yelled in surprise but Tsukishima shook his head. Tobio’s brows furrowed but he just shrugged his shoulders and went back to staring out the window.

 

He stuck close to the other second years as they prepared for the practice match. He kept his eyes carefully away from the Seijoh team as he did so. He had done well to make sure he didn’t see the other boys since the last time they played each other months before but that was about to come to an end. He just had to focus on the game and forget about everything else.

 

“Kageyama! Warm ups!” Ennoshita, their new captain, yelled out. Tobio nodded and quickly moved toward the court. Hinata came up to him with a worried frown.

 

“Oi! Bakeyama! Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

“Don’t call me that, dumbass!” Tobio snapped, his hand flying out to hit the boy in the back of the head. Hinata ducked with a smirk.

  
“So immature,” Tsukishima drawled, rolling his eyes as he watched them. Tobio sent a glare toward the other second year but he just received a smirk in return. Tobio had to admit that he and Tsukishima had somewhat…calmed that year with the addition of the new first years. Better for them to side with one another than deal with the idiots on their own.

 

That didn’t make them friends, though.

 

The game was started and Tobio moved into position. He kept his eyes carefully averted from the two boys across the net, though he could feel their eyes resting on him. He took a deep, controlled breath and then the game started. He forced everything out of his mind and he played.

 

And they lost.

 

Tobio couldn’t really say he was surprised. It was early in the year and his team was still adjusting to the loss of the third years. Ennoshita was in Daichi’s old position. Tanaka was now the ace. The other wing spiker position had been given to a first year that the team was still adjusting to work with. He had hoped, since there were more third years on Siejoh’s team, that they would be in the same predicament. He should have known better. Yahaba, who was now the main setter, had played many times when Oikawa had to sit out because of his knee. Kunimi had once again been placed in a starting position, now playing opposite of the annoying “Mad-Dog”, as Oikawa had called him. He was also the ace. And the other open position was filled by a third year that Tobio didn’t know but he was obvious that he was used to being on the court.

 

It just proved to Tobio that Karasuno had a lot of work to do if they wanted a repeat of last year. If they wanted to return to Nationals and play against Nekoma once again. If they wanted to play against Fukurōdani in an official match. And that was something that Tobio desperately wanted to do. Oikawa had graduated and now Tobio had set his sights on Kenma and Akaashi. Both were great setters, in their own way, and Tobio greatly wanted to play against them once more.

 

He left the Aoba Johsai that day without any word from his soulmates.

 

But something in his behavior must have given him away because Tsukishima slid into the seat next to him on the bus. Tobio blinked, his mouth hanging open, as Hinata took the seat beside Yamaguchi. “W-what are you doing?”

 

“Which is it?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“What is it that Hinata calls him…onion head? Right, is it onion head or the one that looks like he’s going to fall asleep at any moment?”

 

Tobio sputtered. How…how did he know? Had Tobio done something to give himself away? Was it just a guess? Tsukishima rolled his eyes and tapped on Tobio’s soulmate band. “You might have tried to hide it, King, but you were extremely excited about this. And then you covered it up instantly so I assume that it was someone you know and don’t necessarily get along with. I actually thought it might be that setter from Seijoh – not the new one. The Great King or whatever. But the way you were acting today…which one is it?”

 

Tobio couldn’t help but stare at Tsukishima in horror. He had thought his soulmate was Oikawa?

 

The very thought made shivers run up his spine.

 

He looked away from the blond that was staring at him so accusingly and it was then he noticed how many people were paying attention. Yamaguchi and Hinata were both leaning forward eagerly in the seat behind them. Yachi, who was in the aisle across from Yamaguchi, was doing the same. Noya and Tanaka were across from Tsukishima and it was obvious that they were both listening even though they pretended they weren’t. Even Ennoshita, who was in front of him, and Kinoshita and Narita, who were in front of Tanaka and Noya, were all listening. Tobio was just thankful that the newest additions to the team were sitting further up and weren’t listening to the conversation.

 

He sighed and decided that he might as well tell them. This team, Karasuno, had become like family to him. Actually, they were even closer to him than his family. And the next time Karasuno had to play Seijoh, he knew that his teammates would do anything they could to help him out of an awkward situation.

 

He slowly reached out and pulled his soulmark band off of his wrist. Tsukishima’s eyebrows rose in surprise when the names were revealed. “You have a polybond?”

 

“He _what_?” Noya asked in astonishment, his pretend conversation coming to an end. He leaned forward and reached over Tsukishima, earning himself a glare and an irritated huff, but pulled Tobio’s arm toward himself to look down at the names. “Holy shit! Wait…who are they?”

 

“Irritating,” Tsukishima muttered, pushing the older boy off of him harshly. Noya yelled out and Tanaka began yelling about Tsukishima being an asshole, but the blond merely ignored them. “Have you spoken to either of them about it?”

 

“No.”

 

“Have you tried?”

 

“No.”

 

Tsukishima raised his eyebrows. “Have they tried?”

 

“…no.”

 

“Wait! Onion head and that sleepy guy have just ignored it? And you let them?!” Hinata hollered. Tobio hissed at him to shut up as some of the first years turned around curiously. Tsukishima glared at them until they turned back around. “That doesn’t sound like you, Bakayama! You should have walked up to them and-“

 

“They don’t want to talk to me,” Tobio hissed, cutting the redhead off. “And I don’t blame them. Just leave it alone.”

 

“Just forget about it.”

 

But, of course, Hinata didn’t forget about it. None of his team did. He actually received a message from Sugawara, who was attending school two hours away, asking if he wanted to meet for coffee to ‘catch up’.

 

That was an awkward conversation.

 

And then it got even worse.

 

Because Hinata couldn’t keep his mouth shut and he just _had_ to tell his soulmate. And Kenma had relayed the information to Kuroo. And Kuroo had called Tsukishima, demanding to know why his soulmate hadn’t told him and he had to hear it from his best friend. Tsukishima had replied that it wasn’t anyone’s business but Kageyama’s and Hinata shouldn’t have said anything. The redhead had looked ashamed for only a moment before it turned to defiance.

 

But the damage was done. Kuroo knew and had mentioned it to one of his teammates.

  
That teammate was Oikawa Tooru.

 

Which brought forth yet _another_ awkward conversation.

 

Tobio had stayed after practice to work on his serve. When he finally left the gym and began to walk home, he froze when he saw Oikawa standing at the gate. “Oikawa-san?” He asked in confusion and just a bit of shock. “What are you doing here?”

 

“I came to see my dear kohai,” Oikawa responded with a sharp grin that immediately put Tobio on edge. Why wouldn’t it?

 

“You live in Tokyo.”

 

“I’m taking a long weekend.”

 

“And you came to see me.”

 

“Pretty sure I just said that, Tobio-chan.” Oikawa rolled his eyes. “So…I heard that there might be something you want to talk about.” His eyes flickered down to the soulmate band. “After all, it might be a good idea to speak with someone that knows all of you so very well.”

 

Tobio blanched and his eyes darted to the side, wondering if he could run. Oikawa, seeing the movement, stepped forward and placed a strong hand on Tobio’s shoulders. “Let’s go get something to eat, Tobio-chan!”

 

“I’d rather not.”

 

“Of course you would,” Oikawa replied airily as he waved his free hand around. “You’ve always asked me for advice before.”

 

“About volleyball.”

 

“Volleyball and life have a lot of things in common, Tobio-chan.”

 

And so Tobio found himself sitting across from Oikawa with a bowl of ramen in front of him. He looked at the older boy warily as he sipped his water. “So,” Oikawa started after he had finished half of his meal. “Your soulmates are Kindaichi and Kunimi, huh? Bad luck, Tobio-chan.”

 

Tobio scowled. Had Oikawa come just to rub it in?

 

“But,” Oikawa continued as if Oikawa was glaring daggers into the side of his head. “Things certainly make sense now. I mean, the team always thought that Yu-chan and Sleepy-chan were soulmates. They never disagreed with us when we said it…but I always thought it was weird that Yu-chan wore a soulmate band. I mean, if he and Sleepy-chan were soulmates, why was he hiding it? But if your name was there as well…that’s understandable. I haven’t seen them since I graduated but I assume Sleepy-chan is wearing one now as well. No one from Seijoh has told me about seeing your name on his wrist, anyway.”

 

Tobio’s jaw clenched and he stared down at the table. That was one thing that Tsukishima had made a point to tell him – that both Kindaichi and Kunimi were wearing bands as well. He wasn’t surprised that no one on their team knew that he was their third soulmate. After all, he had attempted to hide them both from his team.

 

“You need to talk to them, Tobio-chan!” Oikawa declared, pointing one of his chopsticks in Tobio’s face. Tobio swatted it away in irritation and Oikawa looked down at it in distaste before discarding it and grabbing a new one.

 

“They don’t want to-“

 

“Of course they don’t!” Oikawa said loudly, once again making other people turn to look at them. Tobio bowed his head in apology. “They’re _angry_ with you, Tobio-chan! You need to apologize-“

 

“I tried. Kindaichi said he didn’t want to hear it.”

 

Oikawa’s mouth dropped open. “You did? Why didn’t I know about this?! When?”

 

  
“After the practice match.”

 

Oikawa sighed. “That was too soon! They needed time to-“

 

“And again after Spring High.”

 

Oikawa’s mouth snapped shut and his brow furrowed. “Well, I guess you aren’t the only kohai I need to see on this trip,” he muttered as he set his chopsticks down and pushed his bowl away. “And I was planning on visiting Makki and Mattsun too!”

 

Tobio frowned as Oikawa continued to grumble under his breath about troublesome kohai’s and people not talking to one another. “Oikawa-san? Why are you trying to help me?”

 

Oikawa stopped muttering things under his breath and looked at Tobio in confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?”

 

Well, that cleared that up nicely.

 

Oikawa paid for the meal, despite Tobio’s protests, and then waved goodbye as he walked toward the door. As he did so, Tobio caught a glimpse of his soulmark.

 

_Iwaizumi Hajime_

Well, that certainly wasn’t a surprise. Though Tobio wondered how Iwaizumi was able to deal with someone like Oikawa.

 

He didn’t hear from the other boy again, well, other than a message that contained an emoji that Tobio couldn’t figure out. He just decided to ignore it. He was sure it wasn’t important, anyway.

 

He went back to complete silence from his team, and others, about his soulmates. Everyone acted as if everything was normal. And Tobio was thankful for it. He…he didn’t like hearing from others how he just “needed to talk to them and work things out” or how they were “sure they were just as upset as he was”. He kept his mind focused on volleyball and his homework, not wanting a repeat of last year when he had to study with Tsukishima every night. He would do anything to avoid going through that again.

 

It was during the first round of Inter-high when he was forced to see them again. Karasuno had won their first match and were getting ready to play their second when Seijoh appeared in the stands. The team sat in the front row, their eyes trained on Karasuno. Tobio felt his palms sweat when he noticed two pairs of eyes in particular watching him closely. “Ignore them,” Hinata said as he sent a glare their way. “Let’s just play!”

 

Tobio took a deep breath and pushed away the fact that the two boys were watching him. No, they weren’t watching _him_ , they were watching the team. That was completely different. He just needed to focus on the game, nothing else.

 

They won their second match and by the time his team was done celebrating, Seijoh was gone.

 

Tobio had to repeat to himself more than once that he wasn’t disappointed.

 

“King! We’re leaving!”

 

Tobio turned, scowl already in place, when the sound of something falling to the ground startled him and made him turn his head to the right. Kunimi and Kindaichi were both standing there, Kunimi staring at Tsukishima with wide eyes and Kindaichi looking at Kunimi with concern. The cause of the sound was a sports bag falling to the ground, most likely Kunimi’s considering Kindaichi had one over his shoulder. “Wh-what did you call him?” Kunimi stuttered. Tobio frowned at the odd behavior from his fellow second year. He had known Kunimi for four years at that point and he didn’t think he had ever heard him stumble over his words before.

 

Tsukishima regarded the two coldly. Tobio frowned in confusion. Hinata had said that the two and Tsukishima had seemed to strike up a friendship during the first-year training camp. Maybe the idiot was mistaken because it certainly didn’t seem like Tsukishima had any nice feelings toward them now. “What does it matter to you?” the blond questioned before turning his attention to Tobio once more. “Come on. Everyone is already on the bus.”

 

Tobio ducked his head and followed after the taller second year, making sure not to look toward the two boys that were standing frozen in the hallway. He instinctively reached over to rub his right wrist when it began to tingle slightly. “What was that about?” he questioned Tsukishima once he was sure they were far enough away and wouldn’t be overheard.

 

Tsukishima turned to him in disbelief. “I always forget how stupid you are off the court,” he muttered. Tobio glared in response but he was a bit flattered that Tsukishima considered him to not be stupid _on_ the court. “Forget about it.”

 

Tobio protested but the blond just quickened his pace and climbed onto the bus.

 

A few days late, after they lost to Dateko in the semifinals, Tobio agreed to have ‘bonding time!’ with the other second years. Coach had taken the out to eat, as usual, but Hinata wanted them to have a sleepover since they didn’t have school the next day. Tobio reminded him that hey still had practice but Ukai was quick to point out that they actually didn’t because he was giving them the day off.

 

Tobio knew the entire team would be there anyway. And the third years would give their final decision on whether or not they were going to stay on the team.

 

So he went home after they ate and grabbed some clothes before walking toward Hinata’s meet up place. It was an arcade not too far from Karasuno and Tobio had to wonder if Kenma had rubbed off of Hinata more than he thought. He certainly didn’t remember the redhead playing a lot of video games the previous year.

 

He walked into the arcade and searched for his friends. He saw Yamaguchi and Yachi first, Yachi panicking over something and Yamaguchi looking distinctly sick to his stomach. Tobio was a little surprised. He had thought it was only going to be Hinata, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and himself. Though maybe Yachi was just here until they went back to Hinata’s. But when his eyes met Yamaguchi’s and the boy paled even further, even placing a hand over his mouth and holding his stomach with the other, Tobi knew that something was wrong. He paused in his movements and looked beyond the frightened pair. Hinata was staring at him and biting his lip, his hand wrapped around Kenma’s. Tobio’s brows furrowed. Why would Kenma be in Miyagi?

 

Beside Kenma and looking thoroughly done with life was Akaashi Keiji. Bokuto had his arm wrapped around the setter’s shoulders. Bokuto was laughing loudly and gesturing with his free hand to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Oikawa was laughing as well and Iwaizumi looked just as irritated as Akaashi. Tobio took a small step back, utterly confused about what he was seeing.

 

And then he saw who was standing just to the right of Iwaizumi.

 

Kindaichi was whispering something in Kunimi’s ear and the slightly taller boy was gripping his hand. Kunimi shook his head slightly and Tobio could see Kindaichi’s shoulders sink as he let out a deep sigh.

 

And Tobio knew what his ‘friends’ had done.

 

He cursed lowly and turned on his heel, hoping he could get away before most of the group noticed him. Yamaguchi wouldn’t go after him and he could beat Hinata in a race…most of the time. But the smaller boy would be slowed down by Kenma, so it should be fine.

 

But two hands gripped him and turned him back around. “You weren’t trying to escape, where you Kageyama?” Kuroo purred as his arm came around Tobio’s waist and he began to drag Tobio toward the group.

 

Whatever chance Tobio had was now gone as every single eye turned his way.

 

“Don’t run, King. It’s embarrassing,” Tsukishima drawled as his own hand pressed in the middle of Tobio’s back.

 

“Tobio-chan! You made it!” Oikawa said with a sharp grin as he bounded over toward the three boys. “Thank you, Testu-chan, Glasses-kun. We wouldn’t want Tobio-chan to miss our fun activities!”

 

“What did you just call me?” Tsukishima demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

 

“Be thankful you got _kun_ ,” Kuroo muttered with a scowl.

 

Tobio really, really hated them. Especially when they were together. Who thought it was a good idea to make these two soulmates? “Come on, Tobio-chan! We were waiting for you!” Oikawa’s arm replaced Kuroo’s and Kageyama found himself once again being directed toward the group. Iwaizumi shot him an apologetic smile. Kenma avoided his gaze. Hinata just gave him that creepy stare that said he thought he was doing the right thing and no one was going to tell them otherwise.

 

And Yamaguchi and Yachi were both bowing. “We’re so sorry!”

 

“We didn’t know until we got here!”

 

“Don’t be mad, okay?”

 

“Well, you can be mad but know that they did it for the-“

 

“Well, aren’t you two adorable!” Oikawa cooed. The two in question flinched back and Tobio felt a moment of vindictive pleasure before he remembered that these two probably had nothing to do with what was currently happening.

 

“Are we late?” A new voice cut in. Tobio turned his head and gaped as Suga walked toward the group quickly, dragging a frowning Daichi behind him. “Sorry! It took longer than we expected!”

 

“Just in time Refreshing-kun!”

 

“My name’s Suga, Oikawa,” Suga said with that sweet grin that rivaled the other setters.

 

“I know.”

 

“Sorry,” Daichi said as he stood beside Tobio. “I mean, I knew that we were going to go out after the game…but I had no idea they had planned…this.”

 

Tobio’s jaw clenched and he fought not to look toward the two boys that were still on the edge of the group. “It’s fine. It’s just tonight.”

 

“…yeah.” Daichi said uncomfortably. He cleared his throat with Tobio’s eyes narrowed. “So, we were at the game. You all played well. Dateko just had more time with their current line up.”

 

“Their setter is annoying,” Tobio muttered and Daichi laughed loudly, clapping Tobio on the shoulder.

 

“He was last year too. But, I admit, he certainly improved a great deal.”

 

“What are we talking about?” Oikawa demanded. “What setter? Do you have a new rival, Tobio-chan? I won’t allow it!”

 

“Shut up, Trashykawa,” Iwaizumi growled, lightly hitting his soulmate on the back of the head.

 

“Yeah!” Hinata yelled out with a frown. “Besides, Kageyama-kun is now focusing on Kenma, Akaashi-san, and Miya-san! Not you!”

 

“Oh, really? Interesting,” Akaashi muttered, a smirk forming on his lips as he turned his cold, slate blue eyes to Tobio.

 

He flinched.

 

“Isn’t that interesting, Kenma-san?”

 

“Whatever,” Kenma muttered. “He’s a better setter than I am, anyway.”

 

“But you’re smarter!” Hinata yelled in an effort to support his soulmate.

 

“Dumbass!”

 

“Well he is!”

 

“Miya-san?” Oikawa asked, his voice deceptively sweet. “Would that happen to be Miya Atsumu? I’ve heard many things about him the past few months. He’s a third year, yes?”

 

“Yeah!” Hinata yelled helpfully. Tobio wanted to shout at the small redhead to shut up. Couldn’t he see that Oikawa was fishing for information? He didn’t know why but he also didn’t want to find out. “Kageyama-kun and he met at the Youth Training Camp! They’re friends.”

 

“We are not!”

 

“Well, he says you are!”

 

“Since when do you talk to Miya-san?”

 

Hinata stopped mid jump and frowned. “I – well, I don’t! But he texts you all the time!”

 

“To annoy me.”

 

“He likes you!”

 

“He calls me Tobio-kun,” Tobio muttered in annoyance. “And he said I’m a goody-two shoes.”

 

The entire group turned incredulous eyes on Tobio and then all began to laugh loudly. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. How was that funny? Even Suga was giggling behind his hand. Kindaichi had turned his head away but he was obviously laughing as well. Kunimi was smirking in amusement. The only person that didn’t seem to be laughing was Oikawa.

 

“Sorry, Kageyama-kun,” Suga said as he let his hand drop. “You never told us that! What did you do that made him call you a goody-two shoes?”

 

Tobio shrugged in irritation. He still had no idea why the older boy had called him that. “Wait, I want to back up a minute,” Oikawa said with a frown. “He calls you Tobio-kun?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“An older setter that calls you Tobio-kun and is trying to give you setting advice.”

 

“I wouldn’t call that advise.”

 

Tobio’s eyes flew open wide as Oikawa suddenly turned to Iwaizumi and threw his arms around the shocked boy. “Iwa-chan! Tobio-chan is trying to replace me!”

 

“Didn’t he already do that?” Suga asked, that scary grin back on his face. “Kageyama was my kohai, remember?”

 

Oikawa lifted his head with a scowl. “Take it back, Refreshing-kun.”

 

“No.”

 

“Okay!” Kuroo said quickly, stepping in between the two setters. Tobio was completely confused. He had worked with every setter here – well, besides Kenma. The Nekoma setter still ran from him anytime he got too close. But he had spoke to Akaashi a few times during training camps. Why were Suga and Oikawa making it such a big deal now? “We’re here to have fun, remember? That’s why we came from Tokyo.”

  
“We came from Tokyo because I wanted to see Shoyo and you wanted to see Tsukishima,” Kenma muttered. “Oikawa is the one that turned it into a group outing.”

 

“Thank you for the compliment, Ken-chan!”

 

Kenma looked as if he had sucked on a lemon. Tobio didn’t think that was supposed to be a compliment.

 

“Tetsu-chan is right! Let’s play some games! Tobio-chan, you come with us!” Tobio didn’t even manage to squawk out a protest before his wrist was grasped in a large hand and he was being pulled by Oikawa to the right side of the arcade. That apologetic look was on Iwaizumi’s face as he followed beside them, Kindaichi and Kunimi a step behind.

 

“Don’t worry, King. We’ll come too,” Tsukishima drawled as his long legs brought him up beside them. Kuroo was smirking as he fell into step with the blond. “Wouldn’t want to leave you on your own. Who knows what trouble you’d get into.”

 

“I think Tobio-chan is fine, Glasses-kun,” Oikawa snapped back. “Why don’t you and Tetsu-chan go with Kou-chan and Aka-chan?”

 

“We’ll catch up with them in a bit,” it was Kuroo who responded. “You know, Tsukki, you’re going to have to explain this nickname of Kageyama’s. I’ve heard Shrimpy call Oikawa the Great King but I had no idea Kageyama had a title of his own. Should I bow in the presence of royalty?”

 

Tobio’s teeth clenched but he continued to follow after Oikawa. He knew the two were just trying to rile him up. Kuroo had heard Tsukishima refer to him as ‘King’ many times over the past year. He wasn’t sure why he was choosing to fixate on that now.

 

“Probably. You wouldn’t want him to send his knights after you.”

 

“Knights? And who might those be?”

 

“Hinata. Noya. Tanaka. Basically anyone that would-“

 

“Would you cut it out?”

 

Tobio froze at the voice. Kindaichi was glaring fiercely at Kuroo and Tsukishima, his hands clenched at his sides. “That name is just…wrong. Stop calling him that.”

 

Tsukishima’s eyebrows rose. “Hmm? But wasn’t it your team that gave him the name? I remember you using it yourself last year. What right do you have to tell me that I can’t use it?”

 

“Would you just-“

 

“Yutaro,” Kunimi said quietly, reaching out and placing his hand around Kindaichi’s wrist. The wrist that had his name on it under his soulmate band. Tobio saw Kunimi’s thumb slip under the band and caress the skin there. Kinaichi’s shoulders relaxed instantly and he let out a deep breath before averting his eyes. Tobio did the same. He knew that soulmates could transfer emotion to one another if they touched their name on their soulmate. He didn’t know what emotion Kunimi had just transferred but it seemed to make Kindaichi feel better.

 

Not that Tobio would ever get to experience it.

 

His hands clenched and he pulled his wrist from Oikawa’s grasp. “I’m gonna find Suga-san,” he muttered, ignoring Oikawa yelling his name and the hand that reached out after him. He walked quickly and disappeared into the groups of people, hoping they wouldn’t be able to follow him.

 

For once, it seemed like luck was on his side. Or maybe it just thought that he deserved something after the mess it put him in. In any case, he wasn’t followed and he managed to find Suga, Daichi, and the rest of the group fairly quickly. Akaashi noticed him first and the third-year setter quickly moved from Bokuto’s hold and whispered something to Suga. The ex-vice captain’s head snapped around and he quickly moved to Tobio’s side when he caught sight of him. “Kageyama-kun? Is everything okay?”

 

And, with those words, for the first time, Tobio broke.

 

He shook his head as his throat began to burn and tears leaked from his eyes. He furiously wiped them away with the back of his hand and squeezed his eyes shut to try and stop any more from escaping. Suga instantly wrapped an arm around him and said something to the rest of the group before leading him out of the arcade and around the corner. Tobio struggled to breathe in the cool night air and he turned against the building with a quiet sob. “Oh, I knew this was a bad idea,” Suga sighed as he rubbed circles on Tobio’s back. “Oikawa just never listens. Do you want to leave?” Tobio bit his lip and didn’t respond. He didn’t know how to respond. Because, truthfully, he didn’t. He wanted to go inside and have a good time with people that he hadn’t seen in months and his…friends. But he also wanted to go home and bury his head under a pillow.

 

“Why do they hate me so much?” Tobio finally whispered once he was sure no more tears would be falling. “I – I’ve changed. Really, I have. Why can’t they just-“ he broke off again and shook his head. No. He didn’t need this. He had accepted that it wasn’t meant to be. He was a mistake in the universe. He knew that.

 

“I don’t think they hate you, Kageyama-kun,” Suga said gently as he continued to rub Tobio’s back. “I don’t think they would have come tonight it they did.”

 

Tobio frowned and turned his head slightly so he could see the other boy. “Th-they knew I would be here?”

 

“Of course,” Suga said with a small smile. “Oikawa thought it best that you didn’t know but the rest of us knew what was happening. Kindaichi and Kunimi included. And I think they’re both intelligent enough to see what Oikawa was planning. And they still came.”

 

Tobio snorted a laugh. “I bet Kindaichi had no idea and Kunimi had to tell him.”

 

Suga’s lips twitched. “Well, I wouldn’t know. You know them much better than I do.”

 

_…do I really?_

“Why don’t we go back inside?” Suga asked, taking a step back. “I’m sure everyone has regrouped by now. I think Oikawa said something about Karaoke – though I have no idea how he plans to pull Kenma away from video games.”

 

Tobio couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped and he nodded. He would join them. He would have a good night. He wasn’t going to let his soulmates interfere with that.

 

“You might want to go wash your face,” Suga said as they stepped inside. “I’ll text you and let you know where everyone is.” Tobio nodded and Suga gave him one last smile before he hurried away. Tobio quickly found the nearest bathroom and glanced in the mirror. He winced. No wonder Suga thought he should stop here first.

 

He turned on the tap and leaned down to wash the stains off of his face when the door opened behind him. He ignored whoever had stepped inside and scrubbed at his face a moment before standing. He wiped the water from his eyes and it was only then that he realized that he hadn’t heard the person walk past him. He opened his eyes in confusion and looked in the mirror.

 

Only to jump in surprise when two pairs of eyes stared back at him.

 

“What- shit!” Tobio muttered as he whirled around. Kindaichi’s lips twitched.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine,” Tobio mumbled. He stepped around the two carefully and began to pull open the door. “I-well, I guess I’ll see you-“

 

“Kageyama, we want to talk to you,” Kunimi said, his eyes meeting Tobio’s for the first time in what felt like years. Tobio swallowed hard. “Preferably not with an audience.”

 

Tobio let the door fall closed once more. “Alright.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What?”

 

Kindaichi rolled his eyes and began to rub the back of his neck. Tobio’s eyes narrowed. That was a nervous habit the other boy had had since Tobio had known him. He suddenly didn’t have a very good feeling about this talk. “We wanted to…look, you got your soulmark, right?”

 

Tobio scowled. “Yes.”

 

“And…and it matches ours, right? I mean, it’s our names?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Kindaichi scowled.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

 

“Why didn’t you?” Tobio snapped. “You turned sixteen before I did.”

 

Kindaichi blinked and his cheeks turned a bright red. “Well, I mean, things weren’t really…great between us and I was just…So I thought I would wait until…”

 

Kunimi sighed. “He somehow had it in his head that you wouldn’t have our names. He thought that he and I would match and your name was going to be one of the rare cases of an unrequinted mark. When you didn’t say anything after your birthday, he was convinced. And then I got my marks and he panicked.”

 

“You did too!”

 

“No. I said you were an idiot.”

 

“But you were worried about contacting him!”

 

“We are not having this discussion again,” Kunimi said tiredly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kageyama, can we…start over? Maybe go eat or something one day this week? Just the three of us. This,” he gestured toward he door and, Tobio assumed, the group of people they were with. “this is just a bit much. Trust Oikawa-san to make it into a production,” he mumbled the last part and Tobio would have smirked if he hadn’t been completely fixated one what the other had just said.

 

“You want to…with me?” Tobio asked in astonishment.

 

Kunimi frowned and exchanged a look with Kindaichi. “Yes?”

 

Tobio knew his mouth was hanging open but he couldn’t seem to make it close. They wanted to do something together. Just the three of them. They were soulmates and they wanted to be alone with him. So it was…like a date. Or maybe it wasn’t _like_ at date. Maybe it _was_ a date. “But you hate me,” Tobio said in disbelief.

 

Kindaichi’s mouth dropped and Kunimi sighed once again. “We don’t! I mean, we were angry but we don’t hate you!”

 

“This might take more than I thought,” Kunimi muttered. “Let’s just take it slow, okay? We’ll do whatever Oikawa-san has planned tonight and the three of us can talk more tomorrow. And we will stop avoiding each other.” He sent Tobio a knowing glance and Tobio felt himself flush. He quickly looked away from the other boy. “Can we all agree on that?”

 

“Yes,” Tobio and Kindaichi chorused.

 

“Alright. Let’s go meet with everyone else before Oikawa comes looking.”

 

It was just too bad that Oikawa was standing in the hallway, grinning like a proud parent when they walked out.


End file.
